“TO SURF OR NOT TO SURF”

A recent survey by America Online and Salary.com found that the average worker admits to wasting 2.09 hours per eight-hour workday and that 44.7 percent of those surveyed reported Internet surfing as their No. 1 distraction at work.

Most reasonable persons would agree that some use of the Internet for personal reasons is acceptable as long as it does not interfere with overall work performance. Clearly, it is up to the employer to determine what type of computer and Internet use is acceptable and to educate its employees as to those guidelines and restrictions.

“Pupster Dog Fashions” is both a retail and an online operation, employing four in-store sales persons, eight customer-service and order-processing employees, a retail manager, an online manager, and two people in packing and shipping. Pupster’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday for the retail store, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the online operation. All employees work a standard eight-hour day with an hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks.

In your groups, develop a policy and set of guidelines for computer/lnternet usage for Pupster Dog Fashions. You have 20 minutes. Be as specific as possible in developing your guidelines.

Your policy should contain the following elements:

Statement of Policy (guiding principles)

Specific Guidelines

Monitoring Policy

Penalties for Violations